She participated in children’s musical theatre, and her performance as a fairy in a Gaudeamus production of Peter Pan in about 1989 is still talked about - at least by her parents.

Odette continued at Telopea Park School until year 10, changing from the bilingual to the English stream at the end of Year 7. She won the year 10 drama prize.

She attended Narrabundah College in Years 11 and 12 and made a number of lifelong friends there, including the Drama Group. She also was one of the principals (violin lead) in a production of “The Waste Land” performed at Narrrabundah College in Year 12.  In the Narrabundah College Year 12 Yearbook there was a list of (light hearted) attributes for all the students. Odette was described as the person most likely to become Prime Minister!

She did very well in her year 12 exams and was admitted to a combined Arts/Law degree at ANU. In the five years since then, this great institution has been a central part of Odette’s life.

She took off her gap year following Narrabundah College to go to the UK with her friends Emilie, Alinta and Tessa, and they worked in a pub in Oxfordshire before exploring Europe together for a couple of months.

She also took off time at the start of 2006 to travel with her friend Adrianna to North America, firstly to see her brother in San Francisco, then catch up with some friends on the East coast, and finally to travel for five weeks around Mexico.

Odette had great a capacity for organizing herself – managing to work part-time at the Novotel and various cafes in town, to spend time with friends, study, and perform, as well as play soccer with ANU (she was a determined player who enjoyed the friendship and teamwork and exercise of the game, even if it was at a couple or more rungs below the top level local competition).

Odette completed the Arts component of her combined degree in November 2007 and was in the last year of her Law degree when she died. She was spending 6 months in Lyon (Jan-June 2008) as a law student at the Jean Moulin University of Lyon III. She was of course fluent in French, as a result of her bilingual education and her language studies at ANU. She fitted very comfortably into life in France and managed the early coursework well.

It became clear in 2007 that singing was to become a very important part of Odette’s life. She intended to complete her combined degree, and then work on her singing.

She always had a strong love for singing but did not take it up seriously till a couple of years ago. Her main teacher was her mother, Jill Batcheler-Upstill, but she also benefited from other teachers including Pat Whitbread and Virginia Stevens She made rapid progress in 2007. She gained an A plus result in her singing exams, she performed in concerts, and at the end of the year she had the principal female singing and acting role at the Street Theatre production of The Kelly Women . Her performance in this musical was a joy for her friends and attracted generous praise from The Canberra Times reviewer.

Odette was a steadfast, loyal and loving person for all around her. For her mother, her father and her brother, this love was strong, generously expressed and always strongly reciprocated.

Odette wrote on a recent card to her mum:
"To a wonderful mum, I can’t imagine life without you, and I feel so lucky to have got to know you and spend time with you. I feel so lucky to have such an amazing person bringing me into the world. Thanks for being such a great mum, teacher, friend, therapist, supporter, chef, and person generally. If only there were six billion Gillians the world would be such a nice place."

And on her card to her dad on his 60th:
"How can I write in words what my father means to me? I am who I am because of you. Things you’ve said, the feet we both stand on. The piles you’ve helped me decide on, the hours of homework, where you sat by me. The stories. The support and bottomless love you’ve given me my whole life, helping me find myself. Our walks and talks. The oranges you’ve peeled me so that I can eat them. I love you with every part of me, and I will try to understand the world through dad-coloured glasses, where generosity, compassion, humour, fairness and optimism prevail. Thank you for all these wonderful gifts. Love, your daughter."

Odette was friendly to all, honest, cheerful, insightful, inspiring. She had a great love of poetry and the rhythm of language, and was able to recreate perfectly the intonations and gestures of people when recounting amusing events in her life.

Odette had a very strong social conscience. She was a member of the Refugee Action Committee, and she had a “green” awareness of the world - riding her bike, avoiding waste, gently scolding her parents’ bad habits. She felt particularly strongly about the way Aboriginals had been treated in Australia, and wanted to use her law qualifications to help the less privileged in Australia and overseas. She had strong sense of social justice and like many other young people felt a great sense of relief and a new dawn when the Howard years finally ended.

A quote she had for the fridge was: "This is a society, not an economy"

There are messages on two cards which pick up a good part of Odette’s philosophy of life;
"Open your eyes to the beauty around you
Open your mind to the wonders of life
Open your heart to those who love you
And always be true to yourself"
(Donna Davis)

Another card was by the light switch in her kitchen. She would have seen this every day:
"Live with intention
Walk to the edge
Listen hard
Practice wellness
Play with abandon
Laugh
Choose with no regret
Continue to learn
Appreciate your friends
Do what you love
Live as if this is all there is"
(Mary Anne Radmacher)

Among Odette’s artistic gifts was enjoyment in beading. She made necklaces, earrings for all her friends and family for their birthdays and special events.

Odette loved to be in tune with nature. She practised yoga. She would run and go to the gym. Bike-riding in particular kept her fit. She enjoyed the Australian bush and beaches - Mollymook Beach was a special favourite. She was especially fond of the family dog, Peppie

She had eclectic tastes in music, and did not limit herself to the strictly classical. She attended several pop music festivals with her friends, for example at Byron Bay and near Lorne. She taught herself the guitar and composed songs. She developed an interest in jazz music through her friends, such as Yen and Jenna

Like so many Canberra parents, Garrett and Jill had to face the inevitability of at least one of their children leaving town, or even leaving Australia. On one occasion, Jill lamented to Odette that it was a pity that both she and her brother would be overseas, for some family event, and Odette replied: "Mother, you did teach us to love the world"

As delivered by the celebrant Peter Downie at the Memorial ceremony at the Great Hall on 28 March